Sanitary closure for receptacles.



A. P. FITZ GERALD.

SANITARY CLOSURE FOR BEGBPTAOLES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26. 1912,

1,1 17,823. Patented Nov. 17, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1,

WITNESSES [NYE/1T0 Augusi'ine F Fi iz Gewald B) W ATTORNEYS THE NORRISPEYERS c0. PHOTO-LITHQ. WASHING mu, n c.

A. F. FITZ GERALD. SANITARY CLOSURE FOR REUEPTACLES.

' APPLICATION FILED JULY 26, 1912.

1,1 17,823, Patented Nov. 17, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

IN I/EN T0!) WITNESSES:

ATTORNEYS HE NORRIS PETERS c0. PHUTO-LITHUH WASHINGIUN I.)v c

AUGUSTINE F. FITZ GERALD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SANITARY CLOSURE FOR REGEPTAOLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 17, 1914.

Application filed July 26, 1912. Serial No. 711,750.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, AUGUSTINE F. FITZGERALD, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of NewYork, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, haveinvented a certain new and useful Sanitary Closure for Receptacles, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention is a sanitary closure for receptacles, more particularlya closure for ash or refuse carts, though it will be obvious that it iscapable of quite a general application.

The object of the invention is the provi sion of a cover or closurewhich is normally tight, but which is automatically opened during themanipulation of an ash, garbage or other can, during the act of dumpingthe same into the receptacle or cart.

The closure may be made integral with, or detachable from, thereceptacle or cart, as circumstances warrant, and may be constructed ofany suitable material, though I prefer to employ a framework of wood ormetal with a covering of canvas or other comparatively light material.

The novel feature of the closure, as well as the functions andadvantages thereof will appear from the following detailed description,read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated different practicalembodiments of the invention, but the constructions shown therein are tobe understood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the limits ofthe invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the present invention as adaptedfor use on a garbage or ash cart. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of thesame. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken on line 33 ofFig. 1. Fig. 4: is a section taken on line 44 of Fig. 1, showing indetail certain operating means. Fig. 5 is a sectiontaken on line 55 ofFig. 4, showing the operating means in full. Fig. 6 is a front elevationof a wind shield which is utilized to prevent a draft through theclosure when open.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates a cart of the type commonly usedin the collection of garbage, ashes, eto., embodying a body a, an axle awheels a shafts or tongue a, and the usual seat a On the upper edges ofthe sides of the body a, and

extending the length thereof, are secured members B. These members maybe fastended to the body in any suitable manner and are sufficientlybraced to adequately withstand hard usage without becomin loosened orbroken.

Positioned at either end of members B, and intermediate their ends, arerafters C, which extend upwardly and inwardly to abut one another inangular relation over the longitudinal center line of the cart body, asat 0, while members C, C, positioned in edge-abutting relation at theapex thus formed, serve as a coping for the frame. The forward wall ofthe cart body a, extends upwardly to the apex of the frame, as at I),thus closing the front thereof, while the rear of the frame is closed bya door D, pivoted at its upper edge (Z, by the hinges (Z.

In order that the dust or odor of the material in the cart may notescape through the openings 0, thus formed in the cover portion, coversor doors E are pivoted to the lower edges of the coping pieces C, C, bymeans of the hinges 0 so positioned as to allow the doors E to swingdownwardly to close each its respective aperture 0.

A salient feature of this invention resides in the provision of doorswhich automatically open and close when material is dumped into thereceptacle through its respective opening 0, as will now be described.

A pair of double bell crank levers F are provided, each comprising twobell crank levers 7', their short arms .9, being joined or connected bya bar 7. These double bell crank levers are positioned to straddle theframework, on the longitudinal side thereof and are pivoted, as at L, tosaid framework. The long arms of the levers f extend up along the endsof the framework and, in the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 5inclusive, engage the under side of a finger G, mounted on the doors Eand extending longitudinally of the framework and over the edge thereof.The shape of these bell crank levers is such that when a door is inclosed position, as shown at the left side of Fig. 3, the long arms willengage the under side of the fingers G, and the bar 7, carried by theshort arms 8, will extend along, and above, the outer edge of the memberB. lVith this construction and placement of parts, it will be seen thatwhen a weight, such as a loaded ash can, is rested on one of the bars 7,said bar will be forced down,

carrying the short arms 8, of the levers, with it and swinging the longrm Z of their respective levers up, whereby the door, through itsattached fingers, is swung upwardly on its hinges 0 thus opening theaperture 0, for the intake of material into the receptacle.

To provide for a maximum opening minimum lever movement, the doors maydivided into a plurality of tilting portions 6, c, in which case, a doorwhen in opened position will resemble the right hand side of Fig. 3, theash can which is operating the levers, being shown in dotted lines insaid figure.

in order to obtain the best results through the cooperation of thelingers G, on the doors and the levers f, mounted on the frame, theformer are made adjustable, 2'. 6., they are so mounted on the doorsthat they may be shifted ransversely thereof, so as to operate with thelevers, with either a greater or lessworlr-arm distance from the pointof pivoting L, of said levers. This is with accomplished by pr vidingslots G, adjacent to either end of the portion 6 of the doors, in whichslots fit the lugs, g, positioned on the under side of the fingers GThese lugs are adapted to be slid longitudinally of their respectiveslots and clamped in desired places by means of bolts 9, whichextendthrough the fingers andlugs and receive nuts g on the inside ofthe slots.

Thus a greater or less opening of the door may be effected and a morebalanced rela tion between the lever and the door may be obtained.

In order that the movable parts may quickly return to their normallyclosed position,suitableresilient means, such as the springs e, mountedon the cart body and eX- erting an upward pressure on the bar f may beprovided to assist gravity, but in most cases, these will be found to beentirely unnecessary.

It is desirous at all times, and more particularly when material isbeing dumped into an ash cart, to provide against the scattering of mallparticles by the wind. This is acconr ished in the following manner. itthe front of the framework on the outside thereof is fixed a verticallydisposed upright J, and a pair of laterally extending arms 7', j, arepivoted near the top of said upright, by means of hinges j. The saidarms form a continuous support on which is suspended a flexible sheet J.Ropes j 7' attached to said arms and running through a pulley 3'positioned onthe upright, normally hold the arms in extended position.Along the bottomof the sheet J, are arranged a series of tabs J by whichsaid sheet may be secured at its lower edge to the cart body. It will beobvious that when this sheet is in extended form, as shown in Figs. 2and 6, it will wind is fromthe back of the cart, which,

with the protection afiorded by the uplifted door, will greatly help tosolvethe problem of flying particles. lVhen, however, the shield is notneeded, the ropes j may be loosened, thereby allowing the laterally eX-tending arms 5 to swing down on the hinges j, and talre the collapsedposition shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 6.

The operation of the invention may be briefly described as follows. lheropes j having been pulled taut, and the wind shield J thereby extended,the refuse receptacle is lifted to the ordinary position for dumping,onthe edge of the bar f whereupon said bar is forced downwardly by theweight of the container, thereby causing the bellcranks f to lift thework-arms Z. In the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive,

the lifting of said worlr-arms forces the fingers G, upwardly, andconsequently, raises the hinged portion 6, of the door E, on w rich saidfingers are positioned, the loose hinged portion 6 of the door assuminga substantially vertical position by reason of gravity.

lVhenthe bar f has been forced down, by reason of the weight of thecontainer, sufliciently to bring. about the above described results,said-container comes into contact with the member 13, which tends toshare the rveight with the bar and guards against breakage of thelatter, should the container be of extremelyheavy weight, see Fig. 3.After the .containerhas been emptied into the cart, it is removedfromthe bar f thus allowing the parts, which'were actuated by virtue of itsweight, to resume their normally closed positions, owing to gravity, andassisted byv the. resilient means a, should such be attached.

Theparticular embodiment of the invention, shown and described in thedrawings and .the' foregoing description, deals more particularly withits adaptation to use in connection with garbage and ash collectingvehicles, but it will be obvious that the closure in the same, orslightly modified form, couldbeiused to great advantage on stationaryreceptacles, such asheadings for waste chutes, in which case it might bemost satisfactoryto.employbut one door, or but one halfoftheconstruction shown; or for the ordinary. ash box in which as well as inother cases, it might be advantageous to have the closure detachablefrom the receptacle.

In the constructions just referred to, it will; be noted-that-the windshield, as well as might be dispensed with, these features of theinvention being of particular utility in the embodiment of the inventionherein shown and described.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to se cure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a framework, adoor pivoted thereon, finger-pieces secured to the door intermediate thepivoted and free edges thereof and extending beyond the ends thereof,and a single bell-crank pivoted at each end of the framework havingtheir power arms connected by a bar and their work arms positioned forengagement with the fingerpieces whereby the weight of a loadedcontainer, brought in position for dumping into the receptacle, servesto operate the bellcranks for opening the door.

2. In a device of the class described, a closure embodying a framework,a door hinged thereon, said door having a slot at either lateral endextending transversely thereof, finger-pieces having lugs cooperatingwith the slots in the door, and means for locking the finger-pieces inposition in their respective slots, in combination with a pair ofbell-crank levers pivoted at each side of the framework and having theirpower arms connected by a bar extending longitudinally of the framework,the work arms of said bell-crank levers cooperating with thefinger-pieces on the door, whereby the weight of a loaded container uponthe bar operates the said levers to open the door.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a frame work,a door pivoted thereon, and a finger piece secured to one end of saiddoor intermediate the pivoted and free edges thereof, a single bellcrank pivoted to the frame work and cooperating with the finger piece onthe door, and a rigid member mounted for oscillation on the side of theframe work and engaging with the power arm of the bell crank, wherebythe weight of a loaded container, when brought into position for dumpinginto the receptacle, operates on the oscillating member to actuate thebell crank for the purpose of opening the door.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses:

AUGUSTINE F. FITZ GERALD.

Witnesses:

CORNELIUS ZABRISKIE. M. C. RODRIGUEZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

